Friday (29th March) sees the date when the UK leaves the European Union which brings up more concerns for the impact of Brexit on the UK & Ireland’s leisure and hospitality industries.
While it is impossible to predict the exact outcome of Brexit on the UK, a recent KPMG report has given us some pretty good insights. With the drop in the value of the British pound making trips abroad even more expensive, holidaymakers are opting for ‘staycations’ and pumping more money back into the UK economy through hotel stays and restaurant visits.
However, a slow-down in real wage growth since the vote for Brexit is a worrying prospect for pubs and restaurant venues across the country. Owners and Executives of these venues are having to engage in some forward-thinking to suit varying budgets of consumers, and leading POS systems are definitely one of the ways forward. Despite this, the report states that inbound tourism is ‘on the rise’ and the low value of the pound almost led to an all-time high for tourism to the UK.
The hospitality industry is also heavily reliant on EU nationals for their workforce and with the official leave date still a year ahead, the number of workers planning to stay is still unclear. Training for entry-level hospitality workers costs billions each year so many companies really can’t afford to lose the talented workers already in their hands.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though, and the uncertainty of what the long-term impact of Brexit will be has led to companies investing in a range of innovative and effective ways, such as table-top ordering through mobile apps, to continue growth and accommodate for the potential loss of employees from the continent.
Jacyn Heavens, Founder of Epos Now, provides some invaluable advice to those looking for a recourse to prepare for the potential damage of Brexit:
“In these times of unpredictability and uneasiness in the leisure and hospitality industries, companies need to be investing in an efficient, accessible and affordable system specifically tailored to drive sales and monitor customer satisfaction.”